Original: All places that the eye of heaven visits
Modern: Every place where the sun shines

Original: Are to a wise man ports and happy havens.
Modern: Can be a safe harbor and welcoming home to a wise person.

Original: Teach thy necessity to reason thus;
Modern: Train yourself to think about your situation this way;

Original: There is no virtue like necessity.
Modern: There’s no strength greater than accepting what must be.

Original: Think not the king did banish thee,
Modern: Don’t think that the king banished you,

Original: But thou the king. Woe doth the heavier sit,
Modern: But that you banished the king. Grief weighs more heavily

Original: Where it perceives it is but faintly borne.
Modern: When it senses that you’re barely able to bear it.

Original: Go, say I sent thee forth to purchase honour
Modern: Go, and say that I sent you out to gain honor

Original: And not the king exiled thee; or suppose
Modern: And that the king didn’t exile you; or imagine

Original: Devouring pestilence hangs in our air
Modern: That a deadly plague is spreading through our country

Original: And thou art flying to a fresher clime:
Modern: And you’re escaping to a healthier climate:

Original: Look, what thy soul holds dear, imagine it
Modern: Whatever your heart values most, picture it

Original: To lie that way thou go’st, not whence thou comest:
Modern: As being in the direction you’re heading, not in the place you’re leaving:

Original: Suppose the singing birds musicians,
Modern: Imagine the singing birds are musicians,

Original: The grass whereon thou tread’st the presence strew’d,
Modern: The grass you walk on is the royal court’s decorated floor,

Original: The flowers fair ladies, and thy steps no more
Modern: The flowers are beautiful ladies, and your steps are nothing more

Original: Than a delightful measure or a dance;
Modern: Than the pleasant rhythm of a dance;

Original: For gnarling sorrow hath less power to bite
Modern: Because bitter grief has less power to hurt

Original: The man that mocks at it and sets it light.
Modern: The person who laughs at it and treats it as unimportant.

In Act I, Scene 3 of Richard II, King Richard presides over a trial by combat between Henry Bolingbroke and Thomas Mowbray at Coventry. The two adversaries arrive armed and ready to settle their dispute through battle, with elaborate ceremony accompanying their entrance. Both men make formal declarations of their cause before the king, and the combatants are positioned for the fight to begin. However, just as the combat is about to commence, King Richard suddenly throws down his warder (staff), halting the proceedings. After consulting with his council, Richard announces that instead of allowing the trial by combat to proceed, he is banishing both men from England—Bolingbroke for ten years (which he immediately reduces to six) and Mowbray for life.

The scene concludes with the painful consequences of these banishments. Bolingbroke’s father, John of Gaunt, attempts to comfort his son about the exile, but Bolingbroke remains despondent about being separated from his homeland. Mowbray protests his sentence with particular anguish, lamenting that banishment will render him unable to speak his native English tongue and make him a stranger wherever he goes. Richard remains unmoved by both men’s pleas, and the sentence stands. Mowbray and Bolingbroke bid farewell to England and each other, with Mowbray declaring he will never return to his native land. The scene ends with preparations for the exiles’ departures.

Richard II opens with King Richard presiding over a dispute between Henry Bolingbroke (John of Gaunt’s son) and Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk. Both men accuse each other of treason, and when Richard cannot reconcile them, he arranges a trial by combat. However, just as the combat is about to begin, Richard stops the fight and banishes both men from England - Mowbray for life and Bolingbroke for six years, later reduced to four.

When John of Gaunt falls ill and dies, Richard seizes his lands and wealth to fund his wars in Ireland, effectively disinheriting Bolingbroke. This act alienates the nobility, who fear their own inheritances are now at risk. While Richard departs for his Irish campaign, Bolingbroke returns from exile with an army, ostensibly to reclaim his rightful inheritance. He quickly gains support from discontented nobles, including the Duke of York, who was left as regent in Richard’s absence.

Richard returns from Ireland to find his support has collapsed and his army has dispersed. After a series of encounters, including a pivotal scene at Flint Castle where Richard realizes his situation is hopeless, he agrees to abdicate. In a formal ceremony at Westminster, Richard hands over his crown to Bolingbroke, who becomes King Henry IV. Richard is imprisoned in Pomfret Castle, where he is eventually murdered by Sir Pierce Exton, who believes he is carrying out Henry’s wishes. The play ends with Henry expressing regret over Richard’s death and vowing to journey to the Holy Land to atone for his indirect role in the former king’s murder.